Resources
http://kellymcgonigal.com/vancouver
Or send email to getslides@gmail.com for
automatic response with link
Slides and supplemental handouts
Free meditation practice MP3s & yoga videos
Organizations/web resources
Todays Agenda:
1. Where is the science headed now?
Changing the default
Positive emotion/approach motivation
1 2 3 4 5
Exhale
Feel the
movement
of your belly
as you
breathe.
Escaping Rumination
57 women with history of recurrent
depression in mindfulness support group
Neutral rest followed by a negative mood
induction
Half practiced breath focus meditation after
negative mood induction
Half primed with self-referential statements
typical of default mode rumination
Keune, Bostanov, Hautzinger, & Kotchoubey 2013
Eberhard Karls University, Germany
An alternative default:
Experiential System
The Take-Away
Because altered connectivity of brain
regions was observed in a non-meditative
state, this may represent a transference of
cognitive abilities off the cushion into daily
life.
1 2 3 4 5
Exhale
Feel the
movement
of your belly
as you
breathe.
Mindfulness of suffering
More
activation in
sensory/pain
regions
Less
activation in
evaluative
regions
36 moderately
depressed
adults
Randomly
assigned to
MBSR or wait list
After MBSR,
greater
activation in
experiential
network.
.and
greater deactivation in
evaluation
network.
getting caught up
Posterior Cingulate Cortex
Immediate Benefits
93 participants (57% female; mean age 24)
randomly assigned to lovingkindness (for
stranger) meditation or control task.
Participants in the LKM group became more
positive (calm, happy, loving) and less negative
(angry, anxious, unhappy).
Felt more connected to the target of the
meditation and new strangers presented after
meditation.
Hutcherson, Seppala, & Gross 2008
Stanford University
Training Effects
67 adults (66% female, mean age 41) took
workplace-sponsored 8-week stress reduction
course based on lovingkindness and compassion
meditation.
72 in waitlist control group
Training increased positive emotions, reduced
depression, and improved physical health and
relationships.
Fredrickson et al. 2008
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
15-Month Follow-Up
33/95 participants in meditation training
continued to meditate at least occasionally
(avg 5-32 min/day).
Continuing meditators reported more
positive emotion.
Average meditation time correlated (r = .25)
with positive emotion experience.
Results: Mind-Wandering
The frequency of mind wandering (neutral,
pleasant, and unpleasant topics) decreased
from baseline (59.1% of occasions) to post-CCT
(54.5%).
Home meditation practice correlated with
decrease in mind-wandering to unpleasant
topics and increase in mind-wandering to
pleasant topics.
Results: Caring
Lets Practice
Resources
http://kellymcgonigal.com/vancouver
Or send email to getslides@gmail.com for
automatic response with link
Slides and supplemental handouts
Free meditation practice MP3s & yoga videos
Organizations/web resources